Puzzle.



JOHN ROBERT JOHNSON, OF RICHMOND HILL, ENGLAND.-

PUZZLE.

Specification ol' Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 2'5, 190s.

Application filed April 18, 1908. Serial No. 427,826.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN ROBERT JOHN- SON, a subject of His Majesty the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at 3 Ellerker Gate, Richmond Hill, in the county of Surrey, England, surgeon, have invented a certain new and useful New or Improved Puzzle; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a new or improved puzzle, the same comprising two members, viz., an article of any convenient shape, such as a disk, block, cube or sphere, traversed from side to side by a bent or curved passage, and a 'Hexible rod or pin pointed at one end and having at the other end a smooth rounded head of less diameter than the curved or bent passage aforesaid.

The puzzle consists in passing the said flexible pin or rod through the bent or curved passage of the article, and the solution lies in inserting the flexible rod or pin head foremost, the smooth rounded head readily sliding along the bent or curved passage from end to end, the natural idea is, however, to attempt to pass the pin or rod point foremost, which is impossible, since the point will of course catch somewhere in the passage even if slightly blunted to prevent risk of accidental injury to the user.

If desired the article may be traversed by a plurality of passages, either independent or intersecting one another or branching, this presents a number of openings around the article for the insertion of the flexible pin; also, if desired, other openings around the article-may lead into blind passages having no outlet, thus complicating the solution.

It is obvious that the article, or at all events the passage surfaces thereof, must be of some material, such as soft wood for eX- ample, in which the point of the pin or rod will readily catch, hard smooth material for instance would clearly be useless. To further insure the catching of the pin point the passage surfaces may be roughened.

An attractive and preferred embodiment of the invention is vto make the article through which the flexible pin or rod is to be thrust represent a boater hat whereof the crown, which is solid, is traversed by the bent or curved passage or passages, of which the openings are arranged round a black or colored ring rep resenting the ribbon. The flexible ro d or pin may be provided by an ordinary steel hat pin having a glass or other smooth and rounded head of less diameter than the passage or passages. Preferably the interior of the passage or passages would be blackened to render a clear view thereof difficult.

In the annexed drawings in which similar letters refer to corresponding parts in all the figures1-Figure l is a sectional elevation and Fig. 2 an edge view illustrating the principle of the invention. The article A, here represented in the form of a disk, is traversed from side to side by the bent or curved passage a through which the flexible pin member B has to be passed. l) indicate blind passages having no outlet which may be used or not as desired. The pin B can only be passed through the passage head foremost, if inserted in the natural way point foremost its point will catch.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation and Fig. 4 a sectional plan on line Fig. 3, showing the preferred embodiment of the invention in the form of a boater hat and hat pin. In the illustration of this embodiment it will be seen that a plurality of intersecting bent passages a are employed, the same being conveniently constructed by securing the sector shaped blocks c between the two disks d and e which respectively provide the brim and the top of the hat. The apex of each sector c should face the center of the passage opposite to it.

If the pin B be introduced head first into any passage, its smooth rounded head on meeting the apex ofthe opposite sector c will readily slip oft' it into the passage a on one or the other side thereof, and thus pass out of the other side of the hat, whereas the point of the pin B will inevitably catch if the pin be inserted point first.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A puzzle comprising an article of yielding material traversed from side to side by a bent passage, and a flexible rod sharpened at one end and having at the other end a smooth rounded head of less diameter than the said passage, substantially as set forth.

2. A puzzle comprising an article of yielding material traversed from side to side by a plurality of bent passages, and a flexible pin sharpened at one end and having at the other end a smooth rounded head of less diameter than said passages, substantially as set forth.

3. A puzzle comprising an article of yielding material traversed by a plurality of bent passages, said passages intersecting one another, and a flexible 'pin having a point at one end and a smooth rounded head at the other, substantially as set forth.

4. A puzzle comprising an article of yielding material traversed from side to side by a bent passage, a blind passage extending into said article, and a flexible rod sharpened at one end and having a smooth rounded head at the other end of less diameter than the said passages, substantially as set forth.

5. A puzzle comprising an article of yielding material in the shape of a hat whereof the crown is traversed from side to side by a bent passage, and a hat pin having a smooth rounded head of less diameter than said passage, substantially as set forth.

6. A puzzle comprising an article of yielding material representing a hat and consisting of two dis is of unequal diameter between which are interposed a series of sector shaped blocks separated by spaces which provide intersecting bent passages, and a hat pin having a smooth rounded head, substantially as set forth. 4

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN ROBERT JOHNSON.

Witnesses:

F. L. RAND, H. D. JAMESON. 

